From Ratalaika Games and BUG-Studio comes another little game, priced at pocket money prices, that brings a whole new meaning to the term “simplistic”.
The game in question is called Foxyrush, and while the premise is simple, can the gameplay add up to more than the sum of its parts, or is this just another basic game to go along with all the others that are brought to Microsoft’s big black box? Well, looking at the trailer, the news doesn’t look promising, but it may surprise us yet.
A little bit of scene setting would appear to be in order, and so I will run through what is insultingly called “the story” of Foxyrush.
We are a fox – but not just any fox, a fox that loves cherries. Quite why a famously carnivorous animal would suddenly switch to a fruit based diet isn’t explained, but there it is. And obviously, a fox has to store his cherries somewhere, and Foxy decides to keep them in the open, in the same general area as his house. Well, wouldn’t you know it, but other animals like cherries too, and so they decide to steal all of poor Foxy’s fruit. What else is a fox to do but try and get them back?
With the scene set, the reviewer’s eye can now turn to the presentation of the game. And here the news is again, not great – despite the game proudly proclaiming that it is optimised for Series X|S, there is nothing here that couldn’t run on the average smartphone. In fact that is the vibe I get from Foxyrush; that it is a hastily ported mobile game, even if I can find no evidence that that is the case.
Anyway, each level of the game has its own unique place, with the action taking place on side scrolling levels, where Foxy starts at the left and has to run to the right. There is a certain amount of verticality to the stages, but the actual graphics, both of Foxy, the backdrops and the hazards, are all as basic as can be. It looks okay in motion, but honestly, nothing here is exciting me at all. Even the chiptune music is a bit drab and lacklustre, to be frank, and the rest of the sound effects are no better.
But what of the gameplay? Well, if you ever wanted to play a game that uses only one button, have I got good news for you!
A description of the gameplay here is going to be very short – Press A to start Foxy running, and then press A again when you want Foxy to jump. That is it. In fact, the only difference between this game and one of those awful infinite runner games is that if Foxy meets a wall on his journey, he will reverse his direction, and a quick stab of the A button will start him running the opposite way. And that is the sum total of the interaction that we have – pressing A.
There is a double jump mechanic to use if the gap ahead is too big, but double jumping, for some reason, makes Foxy accelerate in thin air, so you do have to be careful about when you use it. Whatever, as you run through the levels, you’ll see three stars dotted about all over the place – if you collect these stars, they can be used to purchase new characters in the menu, but to be honest, it doesn’t alter the base gameplay, which remains as simple as can be.
Once you manage to navigate to the end of the level successfully, you will be able to secure one of Foxy’s cherries, and thus the world becomes a slightly better place.
There are 64 levels to have a go at, with increasing levels of difficulty, as you’d expect, but the big issue is that Foxyrush just isn’t any fun to play. It looks dull, the actual gameplay is dull, and there is no hook, no sense of needing to see the next level, to found anywhere.
I mean, for £4.99, I don’t know what I should have been expecting, but I have had much more fun for much less money on the Xbox (Vampire Survivors, anyone?), and so find myself in the position of racking my brain to try and work out who Foxyrush would be aimed at. Perhaps massive fox fans? Even then, think carefully before buying.
